Send me email updates about messages I've received
on the site and the latest news from The CafeMom Team.By signing up, you certify that
you are female and accept the Terms of Service and have read the
Privacy Policy.

Will White People Go to the National Black Museum?

This is the heading for an article I just read.
http://www.theroot.com/views/not-welcome-neighborhood

As much as I feel it's an outrageous question, and an ignorant one at that, I feel like over and over we're bombarded with these race related issues where it could have been avoided in the first place had we just recognized American history for what it is.

My opinion? American history is American history. Period. African-Americans are part of our history. Why is there always such segregation when pertaining to it?

If we had a National White Museum, we'd be racist.
If we had a White Entertainment Television channel, we'd be racist.
If employers had to hire a certain amount of whites, we'd be racist.
If we had college fund for whites only, we'd be racist.

Note, i am NOT saying we should have these things, but why the double standard?

I totally and completely agree with you, OP. I doubt I would go, not because its deemed "black museum", but probably because I would never have the funds to travel to it (depending on where it is located).

If it were near by I'ld go. But I've also been to plantations which are now museums, my only two first cousins are black, and I know more about black history that I do about the presidents. So, it probably wouldn't be much new for me.

I don't see a double standard in there being a black history museum. There are Jewish history museums, maritime history museums, airplane museums, dog museums, Elvis museums, art museums, science museums, farming history museums, Mormon museums, Irish history museums, shoe museums, and Egyptian museums. I could go on all night. There being a black history museum is just another point of interest. Not a double standard. I'd go.

SuperChicken: you are correct. The double standard is only in the name (I think that is what she means). You could never call something the "The White Whatever" without sounding like a racist. One could argue that many museums has white history. I could be wrong, but I think that is what the OP meant.

Quinn and skittles, good points and thanks for showing me something I didn't originally see.

I'm not saying the museum itself is a double standard. I too would go, but that's because i just like museums. But I also think that by segregating the "black" history from the "white" history only causes other issues to erupt. All i'm saying is this is just as much a part of history as anything else, so why does it have to be separate? Think about it. You really don't think if there were a National White Museum that people woudn't be getting huffy puffy and calling it a racist institution? That's where I'm talking about double standards.